the waterways
by wordcatchers
Summary: After Lin's harsh words, Korra goes to find Opal to make sure that she's all right.


"Hey, Su?"

Korra leant somewhat defeated against the doorframe, watching the matriarch's silhouette sitting at her desk, reading from some… scroll, it looked like, a few candles burning around the room. But no, she couldn't be reading. Even with the candles, it was still too dark. But Su looked up from whatever she was doing and stood, walking towards her.

"Korra? What are you doing up? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

Korra righted herself away from the doorframe and laughed quietly, "I could be asking you the same question, Su. But…" She hesitated, torn between being direct and being tactful. She glanced away from Su for a moment, then back, "But I was wondering where I might find Opal. You see, she… I…"

She sighed.

"I had a bad idea, and she… wound up getting _hurt_. I'm sorry."

Su's eyes widened and she pulled Korra out into the lit hallway by the arm, "Hurt? How?"

Her lips twisted in some sort of grimace; she didn't want to have to tell Suyin everything, but then she remembered that man. The one who made sure there were no secrets in Zaofu. If she didn't say the truth now, she'd have to own up to it sooner or later. Sooner, by the way it looked in this settlement. So, she told her _everything_. What she'd talked Opal into, how Lin had reacted, how she'd… _what _she had said to Lin before leaving in a huff, looking for Opal but never finding her. How she'd had to come here, to Su, to ask where she might find the young airbender. Not that Opal was _young _like Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo, but… Korra suddenly felt protective of her. Very protective, considering how sweet-mannered and easygoing the girl seemed to be, only to be rebuffed so horribly by her own aunt. All because Korra had talked her into it.

When she finished, Suyin held the palm of a hand against her forehead. The metalbending matriarch let out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding in, "You'll find Opal in her bedroom on the eastern wing. Or, if she isn't there, you'll likely find her where you two first met earlier today. Do you want me to come with you?"

Korra studied Suyin for a moment, then shook her head, "No, I'll find my way just fine. Thank you, Su."

"I'll need to confront Lin about this matter… tomorrow."

Knowing she wasn't meant to answer that statement, Korra left Su to her own thoughts.

* * *

_Eastern wing… _"But she's not _here_," Korra grumbled and slouched against the wall. She had been certain she'd found Opal's room – it couldn't be one of her brothers, the way the room just seemed to scream Opal. It held a few bookcases (filled with books and possibly journals), a small indoor miniature pond in one of the corners, a bed with covers that matched the color of the clothing the airbender had been wearing earlier, and a desk that sat before a large window looking out onto the family grounds. Not to mention the metallic decorations scattered about the wall, along with some Earth Kingdom keepsakes sitting around here and there.

But Opal wasn't anywhere to be found. At least not in her own bedroom, anyhow.

Korra knew it hadn't been likely to find someone she _wanted _to find so easily, but hey, she had to give it a shot first. And she had. And _now_ it looked like she was headed to the waterways down the hill a bit. At the very least, it was a nice… night? out? She couldn't be sure it was the night she saw in the shut metallic dome ceiling above her. It might just be an illusion, provided by something technological. Or created with metalbending. Or something. Maybe the dome was see-through on the inside, but _something _was making the ceiling look like the night sky, full of stars.

She let herself juggle these ideas in her head as she went down several flights of stairs, short and long. She passed by Huan's… art… and then stood a story above the waterway, scanning the area for any sign of Opal. It really _was _a beautiful, scenic... _peaceful_-looking place. She could see why Opal might like coming here sometimes.

The girl in question _was_ here like her mother had said; Korra spotted her sitting on a ledge above the waterway, legs dangling off the edge while she had her arms splayed out behind her body, head tilted towards the ceiling of the metallic dome, eyes shut. _This place must be something special for her. _She knew any place that someone went to when they were upset, as well as when they were _happy_, had to mean something special to them. Sometimes it was a person, sometimes a place.

Korra felt like an intruder in this place, but she _had _to see if Opal was all right. It was her fault for even talking the girl into approaching her aunt as she had. But she… she just wanted to _help_, that's all. She started towards Opal, but the other girl sensed her before she was able to give a greeting.

"Hm?" Opal murmured, turning her head towards the Avatar. When she realized it _was_ the Avatar, that it was _Korra_, she got up to her feet in an instant, feeling the somehow instinctual airbending lend its hand to her quick movements.

"Oh! Korra! I… I'm… What are you doing here?" she said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Korra smiled at her and glanced around at the waterway and everything else before responding.

"I was – I just wanted to see if you were… all right. After what happened."

Opal clasped her hands together in front of her, gaze shifting from the ground to Korra and back again before she said, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just needed to spend some time here," –she gestured to their surroundings – "and that fixed me all up. I've always liked coming here since my mom… Well, that's not important."

"Nothing's not important," Korra retorted halfway playfully. She made to sit down on another ledge, gesturing for Opal to sit down beside her. Opal looked torn between running and staying, and was Korra glad that Opal had been raised with Earth Kingdom principles when the newly cemented airbender stuck her ground and sat down beside her.

"C'mon, tell me. I have time," Korra said with a small smile, gently pushing Opal on with a nudge shoulder-to-shoulder. Opal gathered her hands together in her lap like she had before while standing, and seemed to look somewhere faraway for a moment or two. Then, turning back to Korra, she held a palm out and with brows furrowed formed a small ball of air on it, whirling about a bit wildly.

"All new airbenders were nonbenders before, as far as I'm aware. Is that what you all have come across so far, Korra?" She breathed out and the ball of air disappeared in a puff. "It's still hard to do that," she confessed as an aside.

Korra placed one of her hands on top of Opal's, "I thought it was _great_, for someone who's hardly had any real training. Once Tenzin gets a hold of you…" she laughed, "Well, you'll see. He'll be good, but tough as an airbending master can probably get. But… back to your question. Every new airbender was a nonbender before. It seems those are the only people who will get airbending, so I gathered you weren't an earthbender before even arriving here."

"Yeah… Besides my architect father and engineering eldest brother, I was the only one in my family who couldn't earthbend at all, let alone metalbend. And _they _both have amazing talents that I don't. I… always felt, well, a bit _inadequate _because of it. A nonbender with no amazing skills of her own in a family full of geniuses and benders? It…" Opal took a breath and hugged her arms to herself, but quickly recovered to grin and glance over at Korra.

"It's in the past now, though," she went on, "I may not be an earthbender, but air? That's something special."

"But what about before you discovered that Harmonic Convergence had given you airbending?" Korra asked, "Why do you like coming here?"

The younger girl smiled wistfully, "One time the twins were making fun of me, that I couldn't bend or do anything special like our father and eldest brother. Huan was trying to stick up for me, but I just… let my emotions take over, and came out here trying to hide my tears from them. They're better now, honestly! I love Wei and Wing. But, when we were younger, well… _siblings_. Large families can be overwhelming and hectic sometimes.

"Anyway," Opal continued, "My mom found me out here a few minutes later after Huan found her and told her what they'd done, where I'd gone. She… reminded me that bending isn't everything, told me about Toph's friend Sokka and how he'd helped saved the world. And how he hadn't been a bender, but had still done his own part in ending the war by just, well, being all of _himself_."

Korra grinned, "Your mother was right. And, you know, he later became _Chief_ Sokka, and even helped Lord Zuko, Tenzin, and my father capture and lock up four crazy criminals who had been trying to kidnap me when I was little. I mean, they're out now and all, but you get my point, don't you?"

"Bending doesn't make a person. We're all _people_, bending or no bending."

Korra smiled, and Opal returned it in kind.

"So, then, coming here…" Korra said, "Has it helped this time, too?"

"Yes, I think so. I've realized that my mom and Aunt Lin still have things to work through. I don't know _what_, but I believe they'll work them out. Aunt Lin will come around." Opal paused, then said, "I mean, I was hurt by what she said to me, clearly, but… I don't think she means it. She just seems to be holding a lot of pain inside of her, still. I think you all coming here with her, though, may lead to something good. Hopefully, at least." She smiled and got to her feet, offering a hand to Korra. When both were up, Opal bowed to Korra as a student would to their master.

"Thank you, Korra."

"You're welcome, Opal. But, we should both be getting to bed now, huh?"

"Yeah… we should. Will I see you tomorrow?"

Korra laughed, "I'm not done training you myself, yet! I'll be in with you at the same spot for some more airbending moves after breakfast, all right? And I might bring my friend Asami with me, too. She's a nonbender, but a hell of a woman in her own right. I think you'd love to get to know her better."

"That sounds amazing! I'll definitely be there." She reached a hand out, intending to shake the Avatar's own, but Korra scoffed playfully and brought her in for a hug.

"Get some rest, Opal," she said before letting the new airbender go. The younger girl watched as the Avatar left to get some sleep, softly saying an unheard "thank you" before she turned and went away to get some sleep herself.


End file.
